Recent news

Scientists at Surrey University have announced plans to conduct a three-year research project into the impact of birdsong on human creativity and wellbeing.

There’s been many a meandering speculation into the enlightening effects of birdsong throughout the history of romantic poetry. True, it was Aldous Huxley who once said ‘remove birds from poetry, and we would have to cast aside half of the English canon’.

Huxley famously wrote ‘Island’, a story of a utopia where inhabitants lived in pure enlightened bliss. In this state of Nirvana, the birds never sang, but instead mimicked the word ‘attention’ in order to remind people to stop and take in the world around them. By connecting with the world, people could be at peace with life.

Now scientists are considering whether there is an element of fact in Huxley’s famous imaginings.

With Christmas only a few days away, most people’s thoughts will be on turkey collections, last minute shopping and present wrapping to ensure the Big Day runs as smoothly as possible.

For the charities Lifeline, Samaritans and Childline, however, all thoughts will be on the many people across Britain who will not be enjoying Christmas this year.

“Christmas is a very happy time but, for some of us, it can be a time of loneliness and isolation,” said Suzanne Costello, director of Samaritans Ireland.

Samaritans offers a 24 hour phone-line for those who simply need someone to talk to about their distress. Samaritan volunteers will listen to any caller unconditionally, offering support and guidance whenever asked.

Samaritans, along with Lifeline and Childline, are staying open throughout the festive period. Volunteers are expecting to deal with up to 8,000 calls for help over Christmas.

We have always known that prevention is better than a cure, so now a team of dementia experts have set out to do just that – spot the signs of the disease and treat them before the symptoms begin to set in.

As the sixth leading cause of death in the UK and with an estimated 750,000 people currently affected, dementia could at some point in the not so distant future become somewhat of an epidemic.

With that in mind a team of researchers will be coming together at a new centre at University College London to see if they can find a way of preventing the disease before it really begins to develop.

The team of experts will be looking into neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, with a view to finding treatments which will slow or halt the progression of the disease so they can apply them as early as possible.

“These treatments must then be offered as early as possible, when the minimum of irretrievable neuronal loss has...

According to a study recently carried out in the US, legalising same-sex marriages could create a happier and healthier environment for gay men.

The results of the American study showed that after same-sex marriages were legalised in the state of Massachusetts, the amount of visits to health clinics experienced a significant drop, irrespective of whether or not the men in question were in a stable relationship.

The researchers who conducted the study found that there was a 13% drop in health visits after the new law was passed and there was also a reduction in blood pressure issues, depression and stress related “adjustment disorders”.

Lead author of the study Dr Mark Hatzenbuehler said,” Our results suggest that removing these barriers improves the health of gay and bisexual men

“Marriage equality may produce broad public health benefits by reducing the occurrence of stress-related health...

The UK has enjoyed almost a decade of falling divorce rates but, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the numbers are once more on the rise.

In only one year, the number of couples filing for divorce has increased by almost 5%- a large enough percentage to warrant an explanation.

What is it about the new decade that’s caused so many spouses to give up on their marriages?

According to government statisticians, the mounting divorce rate can be attributed to the recession.

It’s true, there’s nothing romantic about mounting debts, service cuts and wide-spread redundancies. It seems the effects of the recession on middle-class people has, as divorce lawyer Marilyn Stowe explains, put pressure on marriages.

Ms Stowe says: Its hard to pay school fees. There’s higher tax. That puts pressure on people. They are more likely to become candidates for divorce.”

NUS warns that more and more students in England are turning to dangerous methods in order to afford the £9000 a year University fees.

According to the English Collective of Prostitutes, which runs a helpline for people working in the sex industry, the number of calls it receives from students has at least doubled over the last year.

Research from the University of Kingston suggests that 20% of women working as lap dancers are students and 16% of all students asked said they would consider working in the sex industry.

Sarah Walker, who works for a prostitute helpline, has noticed an increase in calls since the government announced the planned rise in tuition fees. She told the BBC: “they [government ministers] know that the cuts they’re making are driving women into things like sex work. It’s a survival...

Ten footballers have sought help from the Sporting Chance Clinic to help them come to terms with the death of former Welsh manager Gary Speed.

The Sporting Chance Clinic was established in 2000 in a bid to provide a support network to sporting figures with problems including gambling and drinking.

The organisations chief executive Peter Kay has said that since the Gary Speed tragedy, an unusually high number of players had turned to the organisation for counselling to help them through their grief.

Chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Gordon Taylor, recently urged any players who were struggling to come to terms with the death to seek help – advice that obviously had an impact.

Speaking about the increase, Kay said: “I’m hesitant to even link that tragedy with anything good. I think it’s almost inappropriate that anything good can come out of such an awful occurrence. But over 10 players have...

TV personality and journalist Jeremy Clarkson has sparked outrage from mental health charities after branding those who have killed themselves on railways as ”selfish”.

Clarkson recently stirred anger amongst the public after his comments on the BBC’s The One Show suggesting that public sector strikers should be ”shot in front of their families” generated 21,000 complaints.

Earlier on this month Clarkson caused further outrage after writing in a newspaper column that people who kill themselves on railways are ”selfish”, as in the words of the TV presenter they cause ”immense” disruption among commuters. Clarkson went on to say:

“Every year around 200 people decide that the best way to go is by hurling themselves in front of a speeding train. In some ways they are right. This method has a 90% success rate and it’s extremely quick.

Plastered across a bus-stop near you: life-sized glamour models promoting breast augmentation in a new campaign now banned by the advertising watchdog.

In a deliberate twist on woman’s magazine ‘Cosmopolitan’, Edinburgh based ‘Spire Healthcare cosmetic surgery’ has produced a fictional cover titled ‘Cosmetic’. The cover shows a young female model in a cleavage-enhancing top, along with text promoting ‘Same Day Surgery’, ‘Get More Pay Less’ and ‘Consult Plastic Surgeons’.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) received 10 separate complaints regarding the advert. People thought it was an irresponsible campaign because it trivialised cosmetic surgery in front of a potential audience of young,...

Today sees the launch of Britain’s first ever mental-health clinic designed to treat stalkers.

Contrary to sensationalist crime dramas and horror movies, not all stalkers are raging psychopaths- most are ex boyfriends or girlfriends unable to deal with failed relationships.

According to the British Crime Survey, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men have suffered unwanted attention from a stalker at some point in their lives.

‘Stalking’ includes anything from bombarding someone with texts and calls, to following, approaching or impersonating them with malicious intent.

Stalking is commonly known to lead to terrible violence and in some cases, murder. Researchers found that 3 in 4 women murdered by their former partners had been stalked or harassed beforehand. This crime is referred to, rather chillingly, as ‘murder in slow motion’.